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Audiofanzine FR
Published on 12/15/08 at 13:17
Value For Money :
Excellent
Audience:
Beginners
(Originally written by micka78/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
- Where was it made? (USA, Japan, Mexico, France...)
US-made guitar
- How many frets, what kind of pickups and what is the pickup configuration?
22 frets
- What kind of bridge (Floyd Rose, Wilkinson....)?
Wraparound
- Which controls (volume, tone, pickup selector...)?
One volume control and one tone control.
- What kind of neck?
60's-like neck...
UTILIZATION
- Is the neck comfortable?
Yes and no! I'll explain myself: when I first tested it at the store, I found the neck rough because of the lack of varnish but after having playing it some time I now find it pleasant.
- Is the access to the upper frets easy?
It's ok. The guitar is rather light so you can allow yourself some acrobatics on the upper frets, but it wasn't really conceived for that purpose.
- Is the instrument ergonomic (body shape, weight...)?
I had never had such a light guitar before...
- Is it easy to get the right sound?
It depends on your setup. Personally, I got a quite fat, metal sound pretty easily and also a crunch sound. But I don't really like the clean sound.
SOUNDS
- Does it fit your music style?
Yes and no! It does the job fairly good but I needed more versatility.
- Which amp(s) or effect(s) do you use with it?
At home, I use small 15-watts Fender and Vox amps. It is more than enough for training. I also used Line6 Toneport UX2 for demos. For rehearsals with a band I generally used a 100-watt Marshall or my 200-watt amp and I found the results really good.
- What kind of sounds do you get and which settings do you use ("crystal-clear", "fat", ...)?
Good versatility for distortion but the clean sound was quite disappointing. But it's a matter of taste.
OVERALL OPINION
- How long have you been using it?
I bought it in June 2008.
- Which feature do you like the most / the least?
I liked the idea of owning a Gibson (even an inexpensive one). For a small price you get a guitar made in Gibson's Nashville factory. It's much better than its worthless Asian competitors. Thumbs up to Gibson for manufacturing this model again.
- Did you try any other models before buying it?
No because it was love at first sight with this model.
- How would you rate its value for money?
Excellent. It's great to own a US-made guitar for such a price! It's perfect for beginners but also for enthusiastic musicians and semipros who will most likely customize it (I wanted to add a mini-humbucker). Important thing: Mount straplock pins because the original pins are really bad. The guitar can easily fall down.
- Based on your experience, would you buy this product again?
Yes and no! Yes because it's easy to customize, which is one of its main successes. No because it's way too fragile (it has no varnish) and you'll have to spend a lot of money to customize it, like I did.
I sold it and bought a Gibson Les Paul. But if I ever have enough time to customize a guitar I think I'll get it back
- Where was it made? (USA, Japan, Mexico, France...)
US-made guitar
- How many frets, what kind of pickups and what is the pickup configuration?
22 frets
- What kind of bridge (Floyd Rose, Wilkinson....)?
Wraparound
- Which controls (volume, tone, pickup selector...)?
One volume control and one tone control.
- What kind of neck?
60's-like neck...
UTILIZATION
- Is the neck comfortable?
Yes and no! I'll explain myself: when I first tested it at the store, I found the neck rough because of the lack of varnish but after having playing it some time I now find it pleasant.
- Is the access to the upper frets easy?
It's ok. The guitar is rather light so you can allow yourself some acrobatics on the upper frets, but it wasn't really conceived for that purpose.
- Is the instrument ergonomic (body shape, weight...)?
I had never had such a light guitar before...
- Is it easy to get the right sound?
It depends on your setup. Personally, I got a quite fat, metal sound pretty easily and also a crunch sound. But I don't really like the clean sound.
SOUNDS
- Does it fit your music style?
Yes and no! It does the job fairly good but I needed more versatility.
- Which amp(s) or effect(s) do you use with it?
At home, I use small 15-watts Fender and Vox amps. It is more than enough for training. I also used Line6 Toneport UX2 for demos. For rehearsals with a band I generally used a 100-watt Marshall or my 200-watt amp and I found the results really good.
- What kind of sounds do you get and which settings do you use ("crystal-clear", "fat", ...)?
Good versatility for distortion but the clean sound was quite disappointing. But it's a matter of taste.
OVERALL OPINION
- How long have you been using it?
I bought it in June 2008.
- Which feature do you like the most / the least?
I liked the idea of owning a Gibson (even an inexpensive one). For a small price you get a guitar made in Gibson's Nashville factory. It's much better than its worthless Asian competitors. Thumbs up to Gibson for manufacturing this model again.
- Did you try any other models before buying it?
No because it was love at first sight with this model.
- How would you rate its value for money?
Excellent. It's great to own a US-made guitar for such a price! It's perfect for beginners but also for enthusiastic musicians and semipros who will most likely customize it (I wanted to add a mini-humbucker). Important thing: Mount straplock pins because the original pins are really bad. The guitar can easily fall down.
- Based on your experience, would you buy this product again?
Yes and no! Yes because it's easy to customize, which is one of its main successes. No because it's way too fragile (it has no varnish) and you'll have to spend a lot of money to customize it, like I did.
I sold it and bought a Gibson Les Paul. But if I ever have enough time to customize a guitar I think I'll get it back